


SasuHina Month Day Twenty-Two || Invisible

by 365daysofsasuhina



Series: SasuHina Month 2019 [22]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-23
Updated: 2019-08-23
Packaged: 2020-09-24 09:48:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20356468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/365daysofsasuhina/pseuds/365daysofsasuhina
Summary: Some people, no matter how hard you try, will never see you. But sometimes...you just need to turn around and see who's been looking all along.





	SasuHina Month Day Twenty-Two || Invisible

She’s never been one to stand in the foreground. All her life, Hinata has been the classic wallflower. Quiet, reclusive, introverted...never trying to take up space. While she had her own goals and ambitions, they were mostly kept to herself, quietly striving to be like those who inspired her. Those far braver, far more heroic, more destined to be in the spotlight.

And even as she grew, Hinata didn’t mind fading to the background. It was quiet and free of the drama that so often seemed to follow her more popular friends around. Those like Ino and Sakura always had something going on. Something to complain about. And while Hinata had her share of problems, they were her own: not really anything to gossip or gripe about. While they got more attention overall, Hinata - at the time - only wanted it from one person.

...too bad she never got it.

Even after the war, after Pein...Hinata never grew from her background position. Naruto followed the classic trope so many teams fell into: the ratio of couples forming from teams was rather high. Neji and Tenten, Naruto and Sakura. Exceptions were those like Ino and herself. While Hinata adored her teammates...they were always more like brothers. Protective, motivating, and someone to confide in, seek reassurance from. But none ever gave her that spark Naruto had. But he, like so many others, never saw her.

It was like...she was invisible. At least...to those she thought mattered.

Over time, she questioned what she’d felt for the village hero. Had it just been reverence she mistook for affection? Had the line blurred into something she’d assumed was love? It was honestly hard to tell...and had her second guessing herself as the war passed.

And then, well...Naruto made his choice. And she was happy for them! Really, truly, she was. A pang still crept into her heart when she saw them, but...both were her friends. And in her mind, the best gift one could ask for was happiness for one’s friends.

...but it left her in a rather awkward place. Everyone knew of her prior reverence for the jinchūriki. While the pair did their best to invite her along as a friend when they could, it was also clear they censored themselves for her sake. And she didn’t want them to have to walk on eggshells as her acceptance of the situation helped fade the ache.

...but she wasn’t the only one.

True, Sasuke held no scorned feelings for either of his teammates, but...he was still left awkwardly behind them. The rift that grew between him and the rest of his team after all that had happened left him, too, in a rather...delicate position.

It became one of the things they growingly had in common.

It also meant a natural gravitation. Whenever the other pair had them along, Sasuke and Hinata were left to mostly entertain themselves, Naruto and Sakura a bit too busy with each other to notice much of anything else. And yet, as time went on...that suited them just fine. The more time the pair spent together - at first in an awkward, yet companionable silence - the more they realized the parallels between them. In their pasts, their families, their very natures. Like two long separated puzzle pieces, they just...fit. And becoming friends was practically natural.

Which meant little went unnoticed.

“...why do you still do that?”

“Hm?” Heeding the question, Hinata glances from her idle watching of their friends to Sasuke. “Do what?”

“Look at him like that?”

That earns a small jolt. “Like...l-like what?”

“Like _that_. Like…” Sasuke gestures vaguely. “...like you’re still pining. I thought you were long over that knucklehead.”

“I-I am! I don’t...I don’t feel that way about him anymore.” By now, the subject is one the pair have gone over before. “...I guess maybe a small shred of me might always feel that way, but...consciously, no. I don’t love Naruto-kun. Not..._that_ way. I’ll always care about him. But...I know he’s happy. And I’m happy _for_ him. For them both. That’s what matters.”

A small, curt sigh blows through the Uchiha’s nose. “...you shouldn’t stare off at someone that won’t ever see you.”

“I told you, I -”

“Because you deserve to be seen.”

His addendum cuts her off mid-retort, startling a bit. Deserve...to be seen? The notion actually brings her to silence. No one’s ever said something like that to her before. Sure, her teammates, her cousin, her sister...they all do their best to bolster her. And she’s grown much since her genin days when she and Sasuke last really _knew_ each other. But something about the phrase feels...different.

...heavier.

Doe eyes look up to him in a mixture of curiosity and contemplation. He, in turn, watches her from the corner of his uncovered eye.

...seen...deserve to be...seen…

...is he…?

“Come on, they’re leaving.”

Again she jolts, watching as he steps up. The other pair have given up their window shopping, moving to another store. And Sasuke makes to follow, pausing to glance back to her inquiringly.

“...coming?”

Mind abuzz as she contemplates his meaning, she eventually eases into following, working up to a jog to keep up.

Maybe...she needs to realize what eyes just pass over her, and which ones truly _see_.

**Author's Note:**

> Phew, first post back from my trip! Ngl it's a lil hard to get back in the habit, but hopefully I wasn't too rusty with this one xD
> 
> Poor Hinata, never catching the eye of the one she wanted. But it seems she's caught the one of someone who might be more what she /needs/ ;3
> 
> Anywho, I'm still recooping from a v tiring trip, so I'll leave it there. Thanks so much for reading!


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